The Aftermath
by Pseudonym P
Summary: She was exceptionally brave. No doubt about that. What Jack Frost doubted was that whether or not she knew what she was doing. Six years ago, Jack Frost led an army to defeat the Nightmare King, Pitch Black - and a certain Princess Elsa snuck herself into the army to fight. / Mulan Parody. Jelsa. AU, to a point.
1. Prologue

_I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS, YOU GUYS. You have no idea. This fic is inspired by, and is sorta-kinda a parody of, _Mulan_. _

_Un-beta'd._

**x**

She was exceptionally brave. No doubt about that.

What Jack Frost doubted was that whether or not she knew what she was doing. Which makes her a complete and total idiot.

"She's an idiot," he said out loud for the eighth (or eight millionth) time that day, as he paced the large study that the Arendell royalty had generously provided for him for leading his army that composed of a mix of the four kingdoms of the West River—Berk, Corona, Dunbroch and Arendell—to winning the war against the Nightmare King. The army left to fight six years ago.

Six years ago, as well, a certain Princess Elsa of Arendell snuck out of her room, dressed up as a boy—which, by the way, Jack will _never_ be able to understand how, since her… extremely feminine physique should have set her apart from the stocky men—took a horse and rode with the army.

He groaned.

"Jack, man, relax." Jack turned his head to shoot a sour look at his right-hand man—and, unfortunately, best friend—Hiccup, leader of the Riders.

"You didn't have a lady sneaking into your army," Jack retorted with distaste, and Hiccup shrugged, leaning further into the plush chair by the fireplace, that grew brighter and brighter as the sun sank down the horizon.

"Because said lady would've chopped my head off if I even said otherwise," defended Hiccup, "You know how Astrid gets." Jack rubbed his face.

"This makes everything so complicated," Jack groaned, moving to flop on the couch near Hiccup. The couch let out a small squeak as Jack crashed into it.

Hiccup gave a snort. "It so doesn't—well, at least, not for _you_." Jack's face soured even more.

"She ruined—"

"You like her." Hiccup gave Jack a pointed look, and Jack visibly shrank.

_Crap._

"You're still so caught up in all of this because, my friend, you have not accepted the fact that somewhere along the line, you fell for her. Hard and fast." Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

Jack gave an indignant sputter. "I did _not_ fall for her while she was a soldier—"

"I'm not saying you're gay—although it would make perfect sense." Hiccup expertly dodged a well-aimed snowball that would've hit his face. "Just admit it. You like her."

"She's _cute_—that's as far as I'm gonna go," grunted Jack, folding his arms over his chest, "But she's still an idiot."

"She took on the Nightmare King, probably got punched in the _boob_, froze thousands of his men and probably crippled his forces from this day forward if that idiot decides to take over again—she's not an idiot, Jack, she's _brilliant_." Hiccup shot back, frustrated. Why was his best friend such a _blind dunce?_

"If she was so brilliant, she wouldn't have joined the army," muttered a surly Jack. Hiccup wanted to punch Jack in the face.

"Will you stop being so stubborn?" snapped Hiccup. "Look, I'm sick of this—of you—denying everything that's in front of you. Elsa was good—she was fantastic—and you know that majority of your army would have _melted_—and I mean that _100 percent—_if she didn't step in and play hero."

"I'm not saying she's a bad fighter," Jack muttered, after a while. "I'm just… ugh. Don't make me say it."

"Say it," challenged Hiccup. Jack scowled.

"Fine. I was worried about her, okay?" he burst out, practically jumping off the couch to pace the room. "She was—_gods_, Hiccup, she was the best fighter I've seen in my life. She was a natural—raw, fierce, _everything_!" Jack threw his hands all over as he spoke. "She was flawless—and I knew that the minute I laid eyes on her, and I just—_stars above_! I was attracted to her from day one. But I can't let the King know that! Do you know what would happen if the King knew I was totally checking out his daughter?!"

Hiccup gave an amused look, but Jack was too frantic to notice—or to even look at anything other the floor. "He'd have your head?"

"He'd _have_ my _head_!" Jack dug his hands into his hair. "I can't live without my head, Hiccup! I need my head to live. And what about my _face_?!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "So anyway, back to Elsa—"

"Elsa, man—she was fantastic. _Amazing_. Joining the army as an Ice Soldier—of course, ice powers are a given—I never really gave her—_him_ much attention. Ales looked like a freaking kid, for crying out loud—I mentally awarded him as _Most Likely to Run Away from Battle_. It was _that_ bad, Hiccup—I told you this, right? Yeah, I did, over that one dinner when we had Astrid's pie—really good pie, by the way, I should ask for the recipe—"

"Jack." Hiccup snapped his fingers. "Focus. We're burning daylight."

"Oh, right. Anyway. So, this kid is basically the most tenacious one—probably the most idiotic, too, and I turned out to be right—but _holy cow_, those ice powers! I was in a—I couldn't speak when he gave his first exhibition. Best in the army, I knew that; I even changed his award from _Most Likely to Run Away from Battle_ to _Most Likely to Die in Battle_. So of course, small battles here and there and Ales always took charge with this air of confidence and regality—now that Ales is actually a girl _and a_ _princess_, it makes a lot more sense now—so he just kept moving up the ladder too fast for me to even comprehend. I was proud, duh; he was part of my division. But then—"

"And then the reassignment." Hiccup folded his arms over his chest and watched his best friend pace a depression into the room's floor. What a shame—the tiling was nice.

Jack paused and twitched in anger. "Stupid Bunny had to take him—my division needed him most; what the heck is that furry moron going to do with a kid with _ice powers_? Then, by some _weird_ twist of fate, they get captured."

_And this is where the fun starts_, Hiccup says silently.

"I had dozens of men who got captured because Bunny's a moron, so naturally we had to plan a siege because, apparently, Pitch managed to find and capture the north end of Corona because—and I cannot stress this enough—_Bunnymund is a moron_, so now King Flynn is on my case and I lost my best men and my best option was to band with other armies and kick Pitch Black out." Jack paused to give him a look. "That's where you come in."

Hiccup rubbed his stubbly chin. "Nah, I'm enjoying the story—keep talking."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. So—you know this part of the story—we band together with Merida and Maximus—really, I had no idea that a horse could lead an army wielding frying pans—and we seize the Valley of the Tower."

"But…" Hiccup said, and Jack stopped in his tracks.

"We were… too late," Jack whispered, made his way to the couch and sat down. He stared at his hands. "We lost so many men—_I_ lost so many men, those with family and friends and—Hiccup. They died because of me."

"Jack," Hiccup leaned in as his spoke, as comfortingly as he could, "You know that's not true."

Jack ignored him. "There—there were few who remained alive, and Ales was one of them. Well. Not Ales anymore."

Hiccup paused. "Wait. You mean—"

"Yeah," Jack said, lips set in a thin line as he stared at the flickering fireplace. "Pitch knew."

"How?"

"Fear. And he…," Jack gave a pained sigh, "He loved her. He loved taking in her fears, he said there were so much; she was scared of being caught, of dying, losing her family—he—" Jack squeezed his eyes and pressed his palms to them. "He enjoyed making her miserable."

"I didn't—" Jack shook his head and blinked several times to refocus his vision on the fireplace.

"No one did. I got to her—imagine the shock of my life when I saw Ales with _boobs_—anyway, I got to her and freed her and it was just her and me, fighting, and… gods. Hiccup, I've never felt anything more right in my _life_."

Hiccup tried to lighten the mood. "The boobs?"

Jack's eye twitched in annoyance. "_The fighting_," he said severely, and Hiccup only gave a cheeky grin.

"So, and then?"

"And then… we won. It was amazing, how she held out on her own—Pitch was taunting her, reminding her of all that she was scared of, but she just… kept fighting." Jack gave a small laugh, a sound mixed with both awe and disbelief. "It was… phenomenal. She was amazing." In a softer voice, he muttered, "She's perfect."

Hiccup watched Jack clench and unclench his fists. "And?"

"And then we returned to Arendell. You know she hasn't spoken a word to me since?" Jack threw Hiccup a look. "She took charge. Talked to the army the same way Ales did, when he directed my men, and led them home. She went straight to her father when we got back."

Hiccup gave a sigh. "You mean she's been in the throne room all day?"

Jack shrugged. "Probably." Jack gave a groan as he stood up from the couch. Hiccup followed suit. "The King sent a messenger this morning to tell me I would meet him tomorrow. Your room's in front of mine, by the way. Where's Astrid?"

"Flew back to Berk." Jack gave a sly grin.

"Why—do you finally have kids I don't know about?" Hiccup gave him a playful punch in the shoulder as they exited the study and made their way to the south wing of the castle. When they made a turn, Jack stopped, and a girl far ahead turned on her heel and walked as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

Hiccup gave a low whistle. "Wow. That looked bad."

Jack gave a sigh, his face sullen. "I just wanna talk to her."

Hiccup nudged his friend. "Go. I can find my room on my own." Without a second thought, Jack took off in the direction of the princess. Hiccup smiled and turned the next corner, and paused.

Staring at the long corridor with several other adjacent passageways and countless doors, Hiccup gave a sigh.

This was going to take a while.

**x**

_Posting a follow-up soon! But first, I have to sleep. Writing this has drained me._

_Review, please?  
_

_P_


	2. The Departure

_Miki Fubuki asked for a prequel. Thank you for being this fic's first reviewer!_

_Un-beta'd._

**x**

The famous army of Ice Soldiers, led by General Frost, would be setting foot into the kingdom of Arendell at sunset on the sixth sundown after summer's end.

That's all Elsa heard for the past three weeks.

Town gossip didn't bother Elsa. Well, it didn't bother her _much_. But when they talked of a "dashing, handsome, intelligent general" they also mentioned how much of a hero he is. Which was starting to get really annoying.

Elsa's interest piqued as and raised an eyebrow to her father when he mentioned it over their afternoon meal, three weeks ago. "General Frost will be leading his army to Arendell," he had said. "The rulers of the four kingdoms along the West River that the small attacks to the villages… are done purposefully."

"Attacks? The ones by the Nightmare King?" Elsa's mother had asked grimly. "They're a call to war?" Her father had nodded his head.

"We have decided that Arendell's army will fight first, as to not risk much damage." Elsa nodded. She remembers the Treaty of Berk—after the really huge dragon attack, Berk was unable to rise back on its own. Thus, in exchange for more accessible trade, all kingdoms decided to play safe and back each other up in times of distress.

"Will," Elsa's younger sister, Anna, asked uncertainly, "Kristoff fight?"

Their father smiled warmly at his youngest child. "No, my sweet. I need him here."

_And father knows you'll do something unpleasant if your boyfriend's sent off to war,_ Elsa quipped with a small smirk. Anna saw it and gave Elsa a soft kick under the table. Elsa grinned.

And so the servants present spread the word like wildfire. General Frost would be here on the twenty-second sundown from that day. True to his word, he was.

Elsa stood near her father's throne in the throne room as General Frost presented him—oh. Wow. Elsa didn't expect him to be _that_ young.

Or that handsome.

His eyes scanned the people in the room, from servants to knights to royalty. And, stars, she could've sworn his eyes stayed on her a moment too long. Anna, who stayed on Elsa's right, seemed to think so, too, and giggled. She gave her sister a wink, and Anna winked back, nudging her sister by the elbow. Elsa gave a slight nod, and Anna looked way too excited to be in a throne room.

"Your Highness," General Frost said, bowing and kneeling on one leg before her father. His entourage did the same.

Her father gave a curt nod. "General Frost. I have heard much about you from the other kingdoms of the West River."

General Frost rose with a crooked grin. "I'm humbled by such a reputation, Your Majesty. And please, call me Jack."

They discussed the details of the matter—enough that it bored Elsa so much that she had to pinch herself to fall asleep. The throne room was now lit by the glow of torches on the wall—the sun had set.

General Frost would borrow Arendell's army to join in the war, and of course supplies, enough to feed himself, the borrowed army and his own set of men…

"Your, er, special army, yes?" her father had asked. Elsa's eyebrows raised a fraction.

Jack nodded. "Yes. My Ice Soldiers, Your Majesty."

"If I may ask," her mother interrupted, and Jack's eyes—such a beautiful shade of blue, Elsa noted—flicked over to her instantly. "Are the legends true?" Anna nudged her and gave her a bemused look. Elsa gave her the same look and gave a small shrug.

"Yes, my queen. They are the same as me—they can create and wield ice as a weapon."

Elsa's back straightened and she felt every pair of eyes in the room—except for General Frost's and his entourage's—briefly landed on her.

"Ah," her mother said, nodding in understanding. "I see."

"I've handpicked and trained them myself, Your Majesty. There is nothing to fear."

"Of course." Her mother's eyes landed on her, and Elsa's jaw clenched ever so slightly. "I was just curious—it doesn't snow much in Arendell. I simply found it… interesting."

_Interesting indeed_, Elsa thought, eyes set dead ahead.

**x**

Her father invited them to dinner. A feast would be held before they would leave.

Anna was with Kristoff the entire night, of course—heaven knows how much she can't stay away from him. Gratefully, her parents have accepted Kristoff long ago as the "hero who saved their daughter from the mountain troll." Elsa remembered that Kristoff had to bite his tongue in order not to correct them.

He saved her form getting attacked by _wolves_. Trolls were less hostile and a lot more… eccentric.

Anyway, the night found Elsa standing to one side and nodding politely to guests in the castle. Some soldiers were on one end, getting drunk and playing a song on the grand piano. One soldier who was dancing a silly dance slipped and landed on top of the piano, but decided to lie down all sultrily on top of it. She giggled at the sight.

"Enjoying the party, princess?"

Freezing her drink in shock, she quickly turned to the source of the voice and hid her glass behind her back. She came face to face with a handsome face and blue—very, very blue—eyes.

"General Frost!" she exclaimed, "You scared me!"

He gave a chuckle and Elsa pressed her lips together. Oh, stars—even his _laugh_ was attractive.

"I certainly didn't mean to." He gave her a kind smile. "Pardon me, but you looked kind of… lonely, here."

"I—" She frowned. "I was not."

"Then I must be mistaken." He nodded curtly, smile still on his face. But now it was thinner, and his eyes somehow dimmed. "I'm sorry for disturbing you." When he moved to leave, Elsa panicked.

"Uh—wait!" General Frost turned to her expectantly, and she swallowed. "Um, I'm—uh, I mean… your soldiers."

"Yes?"

"I'm well—uh, they're interesting. Your soldiers are interesting, General Frost. They sound… well, are they real?" General Frost laughed and Elsa wanted to kick herself.

"They're very much real, princess. And please, do call me Jack."

_Oh, _great_—he's charming, too._ "Well, likewise—please call me Elsa." Jack nodded, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Elsa," he repeated, "What a wonderful name."

_He's flirting with me—oh, gods, he's _flirting_ with _me—

Elsa could feel her panic meter rise slowly but thankfully, Anna stepped in with Kristoff in tow. "Elsa—there you are! Oh—" she turned to Jack. "Oh, gosh—I'm sorry, General Frost, I just—"

Jack shook his head. "It's fine, princess. I don't mind."

As soon as Elsa was calm, she turned to Kristoff. "How's it holding up?"

He gave a dramatic sigh. "Surviving. You know how Anna gets when she drinks—"

"_Hey_," the younger princess said indignantly, "I only had four glasses instead of the usual five."

"Yes, Anna, thank goodness you haven't met your quota yet," Elsa drawled, and Jack snickered. Anna gave her a teasing grin.

"Bet you can't drink as much as I can!"

Elsa gave a blank stare in return. "Anna, I maybe competitive, but I'm not an idiot."

Her sister shrugged. "It was worth a try." She dragged Kristoff back to the drinks table.

"I apologize for my sister," Elsa said sheepishly, "She's… eccentric."

"Sounds like a fun sister," responded Jack, the word '_fun_' rolling off of his tongue like honey. Elsa realized she was staring at his mouth and cleared her throat, eyes darting back up to meet his.

"Oh, um. Well. Your soldiers?"

Jack grinned. "Ah, yes! My Ice Soldiers…"

**x**

Anna gave a sleepy yawn as she pushed open the door to her sister's room. "Elsa, it's barely dawn—" She stopped in her tracks. "_What_ are you doing?" Anna hissed at her sister as she moved to quickly silently slide the door closed. Elsa, her older sister, was furiously packing away at a small bag. Her hair was pinned to her head, almost to look as if she cut her hair to a boy's length; she wasn't wearing her traditional dress, too, and looked like she bound her chest to make it seems smaller… flatter. She was—

"Elsa, are you running _away_?" Anna asked, disbelievingly. "No—you can't—"

Else turned to her swiftly moved to grab Anna's shoulders. "I'm not running away, Anna. Relax." She let go and turned back to her task on her bed. "Well, not fully. I'll be back."

"Then where are you going? And why are you wearing a page's outfit?"

Elsa slung her bag over her body and turned to face her sister. "Anna, meet Ales." She spread her arms and Anna looked over her page's outfit once more. "I'm going to fight in the war."

"_WHAT_?" Anna shrieked, and Elsa ran to place a cold hand over her sister's mouth. Anna swatted it away. "What are you _thinking_, Elsa?" Anna hissed in a much lower voice, "Are you even thinking at _all_?"

"I can use my powers for good, Anna," Elsa pleaded, "Jack told me all about the Ice Soldiers. They're like me! They can control ice, make it snow—everything. And he trains them himself. He can help me!"

Anna remained indignant to the idea. "Mama and Papa are going to get so—"

"You will _not_ tell them," Elsa snapped firmly.

"Then what will I say, Elsa?" Anna cried in disbelief, "They'll be devastated!"

"They won't," Elsa retorted mockingly, approaching her window. "They'll be happy no one's here to freeze anything or make it snow in anyone's room or things like that. It'll be one less burden to them. They can even say that I'm studying how to be a queen in the mountains. They don't have to keep _hiding_ me."

Anna followed suit and gave her sister a sad look. "You don't mean that. They'll worry about you, still!"

"I'm wanted else where, sister. I'm _needed_ elsewhere." Elsa sighed and gave her sister a sad smile. "I'll be okay. He trains them. He can train me."

"Do you _have_ to leave?" spoke Anna timidly. Elsa reached over and enveloped the redhead in a hug.

"You know I do. My powers don't belong here." Elsa looked back out the window, eyeing the group of men who were standing near the gates. They would leave as soon as the sun rose. The horizon was already lightening. "I have to leave—"

"A-Already? Elsa, you didn't even—oh—" Anna launched herself at her sister and squeezed her in a hug. "Oh, Elsa, please don't!"

"I have to," Elsa murmured comfortingly, rubbing her sister's back as she sniffled. When Anna pulled away, Elsa gave a sad smile. "I'll be back. I promise."

"Take care of yourself," said Anna tearfully.

"I will. Take care of Mama and Papa and Kristoff, too," Elsa rubbed her thumb on her sister's cheek. "Now, enough tears—I need to leave to get a horse. And I will not leave you in such a state."

Anna nodded and wiped away the remaining tears. The horizon was brightening fast. With a slight smile, Anna said, "Ales? Really? You couldn't think of a better name?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "I had to think _overnight_, Anna. Do you think I had time to think of a better name?"

Anna shook her head and raised her hands in defeat. "Okay, fine. But do you think by surrounding yourself with hundreds of men, you'll finally find a boyfriend?"

Elsa blushed but gave a very unlady-like snort. "_Please_, Anna." With one last hug, she swung her legs over the ledge of her window and motioned for a pile of snow to cushion her fall below. She turned back to Anna. "Although General Frost _is_ pretty cute."

Anna grasped her arm before she could jump, looking at her sister with a raised eyebrow. "Did you have fun with him last night?"

Despite her red face, Elsa rolled her eyes. "Don't be foolish, Anna. We simply talked."

"Yeah. For two full hours." Anna gave a wicked grin and watched as her sister disappeared over the ledge with one last roll of her eyes. The redhead looked down at her sister. "Good luck," she called, as loud as she could without disturbing anyone—or giving her sister away. "Both with the war and with General Frost!"

Elsa winked as she ran into the stables and came out with a pure white steed, racing to catch the army that was leaving through the gates.

**x**

_I hope you guys enjoyed that! I'll write the final chapter soon. Hopefully I can reach 20 reviews before then?_

_Read and review, please?_

_P_


	3. In Medias Res

_Hi. Please read the following before you submit a review:_

**_One_**_: Do not tell me what to do. I really find the reviews that demand me to update incredibly irritating. And pretentious. Don't demand an update from me. You don't pay me to do this and thus, you do not hold any position to demand from me._

**_Two_**_: Sorry if that sounded really dickish, but I meant what I said. I have a life outside of writing—I'm a university student who is on the verge of graduating so I have to prioritize my future. There is no room for compromise on this._

**_Three_**_: For all those who took the time to make a review (I mean the decent ones), thank you for your kindness. I appreciate your patience and I hope this update satisfies you._

_And lastly, **four**: Elsa is now Ales. I fixed it to make it consistent with all the chapters.__  
_

_This chapter is dedicated to **unlucky-cards** for the nicest review I ever got for this fic. Enjoy!_

_Un-beta'd._

**x**

The first week could've gone better.

Elsa bit back a frustrated scream when the arrow didn't meet the mark. For the what was probably the eightieth time.

She threw the bow and quiver in her anger and flung her arm forwards. A few moments later, a sharp shard of ice embedded itself in the middle of the bull's-eye, hanging from a branch a good fifteen feet in the air. The camp was abuzz with clanging swords, sparring noises and general chatter. Elsa stood a ways away from the commotion, near the forest.

When she heard a twig snap behind her, she spun around and conjured a sword made of ice, her face contorted into the most menacing glare she could manage.

"Easy, soldier!" came the cry that melted the sword from her hands. Elsa blinked and stood up straight immediately, saluting.

"General," she greeted in reply. Jack chuckled and motioned to the bow and quiver that lay unceremoniously on the ground.

"Archery not treating you well?" Elsa glared at the weapon with distaste, making Jack laugh. "It didn't do anything to you, Ales."

"It might as well have," responded Elsa in reply, before she hastily cleared her throat and added in a much lower voice, "Sir."

The general shook his head and motioned for Elsa to bring the over the weapon as he made his way about ten feet form the target. "Come over here," he said, "Stand in front of me." Elsa's heart stopped for a moment.

"Um, sir, I don't think—"

Jack scoffed. "Don't be shy. I'm just going to teach you how to hold a bow and arrow."

Elsa's step had a slight hesitation to it, and she cursed herself. If Jack noticed, he said nothing. She carefully positioned herself near her officer—_not too close, Elsa, not too close_—and allowed him to instruct her.

"Stand in front of me," he began, going through the motions of how to hold a bow, aim, pull back an arrow and fire. The whole time, his hand was poised over hers, and her heart was beating a mile a minute. Part of it was the fear of him accidentally touching _something_, and the other part, well…

Elsa was not blind. General Jack Frost was incredibly handsome. Every city or village they had passed practically had girls lined up at the gates when they heard of their arrival. Elsa could roll her eyes at how pathetic they were being, but she couldn't—she had the biggest crush on him. And it also didn't help that he was really good at what he does.

An inspirational leader and a friend, he was a comrade to everyone. He tended to the wounds of his men whenever and wherever he could, he didn't assert his rank over anyone, and he was just so humble that Elsa wanted to scream at him to stop being so damn adorable and be a pompous prick every once in a while so she could control her emotions whenever he was there. The past three years were full of camaraderie and training and friendship and personally getting to know each of the men in the army—and by personally, Elsa meant disturbingly personally, like she was sure that if they knew she had boobs, they were bound to treat her different.

Or show her less, ah… personal possessions.

"Ales?" Elsa snapped out of her reverie and blinked, turning to her commander. She yelped at the closeness of their faces. Jack immediately pulled away and stepped back. "Sorry!"

"Ah! No, uh, I'm—" Elsa cleared her throat again, "I'm sorry, sir. I was just thinking."

Jack clucked his tongue. "Not paying attention to his officer, I see."

Elsa winced. "No, I—" Jack shrugged it off with a teasing smile, and Elsa scowled.

"Try hitting it now," he suggested, and Elsa looked at the bow and arrow in her hands. She sighed. No time like a present.

The arrow didn't even make it five feet across. Elsa's eye twitched while Jack sighed.

"Look," suggested Jack, "Think of something you want to achieve." He pointed to the quiver. "Those are your means—" and he pointed to the bull's-eye, "And that's your goal. You have to make it, Ales. What's the one thing that you've ever wanted in your life?"

Elsa was deep in thought as she approached the quiver and pulled out another arrow. _What's the one thing I've ever wanted in my life?_

She thought of Arendell.

_I want to be a good queen._

She thought of her people.

_I want to be a good leader._

She took her stance where Jack stood earlier and took a deep breath. She thought of her parents.

_I want to do something right._

She pulled the arrow back and aimed. She thought of Anna.

_I want to make someone proud._

She closed her eyes. She thought of the castle.

_I want to be who I am._

She took a deep breath. She thought of her room—the frozen corners, the closed curtains—and she felt a surge of power that she couldn't quite control.

_I want to be free._

Elsa released the arrow and a strong gust followed, making her jump in surprise. Her eyes snapped open.

"Congratulations," she heard, and she turned to face her commander. He had a wide grin on his face. "You're going to teach me how to do that some time."

She turned her head back to the target and gasped. Ice and snow covered the path of the arrow, the grass only a memory underneath the white. What shocked her more was the tree.

The arrow and target turned to ice, and so did the rest of the tree. The giant oak was frozen, ice wrapping around its figure, sunlight dancing across the surface.

"Really, really impressive, Ales." Elsa heard Jack's voice move farther and farther away. "You're just full of surprises."

**x**

"Wow, that must've been really nice."

Elsa sighed and gave the small snowman a smile. "It was okay."

"No, really!" Olaf insisted, wobbling over to Elsa's side, twiggy arms waving in excitement. "You impressed the General!"

"It wasn't a big deal."

"But you like this guy, right? Of _course_ it's a big deal!"

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "Olaf, don't make me decapitate you."

"It's okay." Olaf waved it off like they were talking about the speed of grass growth. "It won't kill me."

_Sometimes I wish it did_, Elsa groaned internally. She was thankful for the snowman, undoubtedly—but sometimes he just became too irritating for Elsa to handle. Like that one time he just had to find out what melting felt like when he went too close to the fire pit. In the middle of a drinking session with the rest of the men.

_Maybe I should've made him a brain._

The sky was tinged with darkness, signaling dusk. Chatter was getting louder and Elsa sighed—the men would invite her to go drinking in an hour or so. She could go with them since she could hold her liquor now better than she did a few years ago, but she didn't want to risk it since she knew that a good number of them would pay to see Ales get drunk.

She almost did, once. But then she remembered that no one knew she was a girl, so that settled that internal battle.

The faint sound of horses galloping piqued her attention and Elsa ran outside of her tent. A small army was making their way towards their camp and the—wait… was that a… giant rabbit?

General Frost intercepted them before they could make their way fully to camp premises. She locked eyes with a younger soldier, who shrugged. _Guess no one knows what's going on then._

Dusk made way to night and preparations for dinner went as usual. In the middle of eating her meal—which made nearly everyone make fun of her before, since she ate so little compared to everyone else, but the years grew and so did their tolerance of "Ales' weird girly habits"—General Frost made an announcement.

"General Bunnymund needs our help, men," he announced. Jack said that General Bunnymund—apparently, the giant rabbit could talk (_This war just keeps getting weirder and weirder_, Elsa thought)—had come with information of a reassignment and needed fifty men to go along with him to scout the Valley of the Tower.

"Rapunzel's tower?" Elsa voiced, and the guy to her right shushed her. "But that's all the way in Corona!" she said in a much softer voice.

"There's word that the Nightmare King has taken the old tower for refuge," a stout guy on her left responded, accent hanging heavy on his every word, and Elsa's eyebrows rose.

"So they need good men for that?"

"Aye, I believe so."

Elsa didn't need to know more in order to make up her mind.

**x**

Elsa fastened the rest of her stuff to her horse.

"Ales?" she heard, and she turned immediately and saluted the man. He was one of Arendell's finest captains. And it didn't hurt that he was Kristoff's best friend.

"Captain," she greeted, and he winced.

"Sven's fine." She grinned.

"I know." She went back to fixing her things. Sven cleared his throat.

"So, uh, Ales—you're, um… you're leaving with Bunnymund?" Elsa nodded.

"That's where the Nightmare King is, right? North of Corona?" Sven frowned.

"Yes, but—"

"Then I should help in any way I can," was her resolute answer, making Sven's frown etch deeper into his face.

"I promised your sister I would protect you in any way I can, Elsa," he murmured lowly, and Elsa sighed. She supposed it would be hard to disguise herself from a man that she knew since she was twelve, but it hurt her ego when he came up to her a week after they left Arendell to gape at her and ask what was a princess doing with the rest of the men. "So that was what Anna meant when she said to look after you," he had said, and Elsa was flush with embarrassment at being found out.

He assured her that he wouldn't tell anyone, of course, but it didn't mean that he would get off her case about it.

"I'll be fine, Sven," she said as she tried to appease him. His frown didn't let up, and the furrows on his brow were starting to look permanent.

"I don't have any lack of faith in your abilities, Elsa. I'm scared of what the enemy can do to _you_."

Before she could reply, she heard another set of footsteps approach, this time more frantic. She had an idea of who this was already.

"You're _leaving_?" She sighed. Turning to salute, she gave a nod.

"Yes, General Frost."

"B-But—" Jack stammered, blue eyes wide and hands frantic. "You can't! _I_ need you! You're one of my best men!"

"Which means my services are better suited on the front lines."

"No, you still—I mean—train—"

Putting her hand down, she raised an eyebrow. "With all due respect, sir, I think I'm quite capable of holding out on my own by now."

"That's not what I—" Jack smacked a hand to his face and groaned. "There's no convincing you, is there?"

"I'm afraid not." Jack scowled and let his hands drop to his sides.

"We're moving West to band with the armies of Corona and Dunbroch," he said, voice low, "There will plenty of men who are much more capable in this kind of situation."

Elsa tensed. "Are you saying I'm not good enough?" she demanded, voice clipped.

Jack shook his head, almost dejectedly. "Not at all, soldier. I just—" he sighed, "You're too young to risk so much."

Elsa's shoulders fell.

"I agree with General Frost," Sven interjected, giving her a sad look, but Elsa knew that what he was saying was just to keep General Frost from being suspicious. "You're… young, Ales. We don't want to risk your future."

She sighed. "Thank you for your concern, sir. But I'll be fine. I've learned much."

"Take care, soldier," Sven said, and Elsa gave a small smile.

"I will, sir." Mounting her horse, she led him to the small group of men that General Bunnymund was talking to.

"Ales," she heard, and she slightly pulled the reins to get the horse to stop. She turned. Jack was approaching her.

"Yes, sir?"

"Use…" he sighed. "If you must leave, use your arrows at the last minute. Don't… leave it until you absolutely need to use it."

She paused and nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"I'm counting on you," was the last that she heard of her General before leaving for the Valley of the Tower.

**x**

_My longest chapter yet! I hope you guys had fun with that._

_So my plans for this fic: One more chapter (the final battle!) and then we move on to where we ended at the prologue. Anyone have any comments on this? Particularly for the final chapter, I'm thinking if I should move back to the Jack POV or stay in Elsa-verse. What do you guys think?_

_Thanks for reading!_


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